How long was it since a Georgia Tech quarterback threw four touchdown passes in a game?

Far enough back that Calvin Johnson caught two of them.

A potent passing game simply isn’t what the Yellow Jackets spring on people, for understandable reasons. Coach Paul Johnson runs the same triple option he used to pile up victories at Georgia Southern and Navy, and it works well enough for Georgia Tech to wind up in a bowl game year after year after year.

The Yellow Jackets will run and run and run, and the pass is usually just a way to keep opponents honest. In five seasons under Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech averaged 9.6 touchdown passes and has never had more than 12. The presence of receivers Demaryius Thomas and Stephen Hill infused much more of a threat into the passing game than quarterbacks Joshua Nesbitt and Tevin Washington did.

Now, though, the Yellow Jackets’ aerial attack must be reckoned with. Quarterback Vad Lee already has six scoring strikes, including four in Saturday’s 38-14 triumph at Duke. Lee isn’t going to throw 40 times a game, but he’s a more-than-competent passer who is going to make Georgia Tech far more dangerous than it was the last few years.

The passing game is traditionally a change of pace for the Yellow Jackets. Lee, who split time with Washington last season, makes that alternative look vastly more menacing for opponents.

Nine other things to consider after a limited weekend thanks to five teams enjoying an open date …

Wake Forest is in danger of a double-digit loss season. The Demon Deacons have already lost arguably their most winnable conference game (Boston College). They’ve lost at home to UL Monroe in a game they were fortunate to even have a chance to send to overtime (a failed two-point conversion denied that possibility Saturday).

Next up is a trip to Army, which turned in a spunky performance against Stanford this weekend. A year ago, a reeling ACC team visited West Point, lost and effectively found itself playing out the string at midseason. A bowl trip already isn’t likely for the Demon Deacons (1-2) given what still is to come, but the hopes of even a respectable showing this year would effectively evaporate with a third straight loss.

Kicker will be a topic of conversation at Virginia Tech this week. The Hokies secured a virtually unwatchable 15-10 victory at East Carolina, further solidifying the perception Virginia Tech will need its defense to carry the day quite a bit over the course of the season.

Far more troubling than an inconsistent offense was the second half kicker Cody Journell endured. He pushed an extra point to the left, badly missed field goals of 38 and 40 yards and had a missed 32-yarder wiped out by a running into the kicker penalty. It was an out-of-nowhere meltdown; Journell was 36 of 44 on field goals in his career before Saturday.

The Terrel Hunt era at Syracuse has arrived. It’s going to be difficult for Syracuse coach Scott Shafer to go back to Drew Allen this week, and there probably isn’t much impulse to do so. Hunt has led the Orange on eight scoring drives over the last two weeks and brought substantial life to what wasn’t an especially vibrant offense.

The natural caveat to attach to his three-touchdown day against Wagner was that he did it against Wagner. It’s a valid point, but Allen wasn’t sharp when he got his first crack at the Seahawks. No one should expect Hunt to be that effective all the time. Nonetheless, he’s earned his chance with his on-field production.

True freshmen will have a large say in the fate of Pittsburgh’s offense. There’s no reason to read too deeply in the Panthers’ 49-27 thrashing of New Mexico. But Pittsburgh did reinforce in the first quarter what it showed in its season-opening loss to Florida State: Paul Chryst has no problems counting on the bounty from his first full recruiting class.

Wideout Tyler Boyd set up Pittsburgh’s first touchdown with a long reception while being interfered with. He scored the second on a jet sweep. Tailback James Conner staked a significant claim to a place in the Panthers’ running game, scoring the first of his two touchdowns in the opening quarter. Boyd and Conner are centerpieces of the Pitt offense moving forward, and they’ll be heard from this season, too.

Florida State might have an interesting experiment at running back in Karlos Williams. The Seminoles moved the veteran safety to offense after the first week of the season. With the secondary crowded and Florida State thin at tailback, it was worth a try.

Williams ran for a 65-yard touchdown on his first snap in Saturday’s 62-7 rout of Nevada. He finished with 110 yards on eight carries. Williams probably won’t siphon carries from Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr., but he might have found himself a home on offense for the Seminoles.

Boston College is not going to like its encounter with the Florida State defense in a couple weeks. Clemson can stake a claim to being the best team in the ACC, but the surest thing in the conference remains the Florida State defense. It is simply too talented to yield much to a good offense.

And to a limited one, like the Boston College bunch that put up 184 yards at Southern California in Saturday’s 35-7 loss? It’s not a pleasant thought. Eagles coach Steve Addazio has two weeks to get ready for the Seminoles, but a bounty of offensive stars won’t arrive in Chestnut Hill in just a fortnight. The Eagles (2-1) are better, but Saturday demonstrated there is still a wide gap for them to close.

Neither is Wake Forest (though that game won’t be until November). The Demon Deacons ran for 15 yards against UL Monroe. Sixteen of their 28 receptions went to Michael Campanaro. This couldn’t be more of a one-dimensional offense at the moment.

Granted, Campanaro is excellent, but there are teams that can and will limit his effectiveness (with Florida State being one of them). Then what? The answer won’t please an already frustrated fan base.

Maryland is halfway to bowl eligibility. There’s only one 3-0 team in the ACC, in large part because of how open dates have fallen this season. Still, that team is Maryland, the same program that mustered a 6-18 mark over the last two seasons and could use every bit of optimism it can muster.

The Terrapins have rolled up 500 yards in three consecutive games to start the year. They managed to have three such games in the previous nine seasons combined. Not only is Maryland three wins away from being eligible for the postseason, it appears to be heading there in style.

Duke might want to be balanced, but probably not like this. Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe couldn’t have emphasized his desire to be able to both run and pass any more clearly. Not in the offseason. Not during camp. Not after starting quarterback Anthony Boone suffered a broken collarbone on Sept. 7.

Duke was exceptionally balanced Saturday, but it was not effective. The Blue Devils (2-1) ran for 132 yards and passed for 122 yards in their loss to Georgia Tech. They’ll need to do better on both fronts as they move forward.